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Bruce McArthur was first arrested and charged with two counts of first-degree murder on Jan. 18 in connection with the disappearance of Andrew Kinsman and Selim Esen, both reported missing from the Church and Wellesley streets area at separate times last year. All three were on dating apps and police said McArthur had a relationship with Kinsman for “some time”. The nature of his relationship with Esen is not known at this time.

On Jan. 29, police laid three additional first-degree murder charges against McArthur in the deaths of Majeed Kayhan, Soroush Mahmudi and Dean Lisowick. Police say there are likely more victims but they have “no idea” how many more.

On Feb. 23, police added a sixth first-degree murder charge against McArthur in connection with the death of 40-year-old Skandaraj “Skanda” Navaratnam. Police also confirmed the remains of Navaratnam and Soroush Mahmudi have been identified. They were among the remains recovered from planters at a house on Mallory Crescent, where McArthur worked as a landscaper.

McArthur had been barred from the Gay Village after assaulting a man with a metal pipe in 2001. He was convicted in 2003 and given a conditional sentence of two years less a day and three years’ probation. As part of the sentence — except for work and medical appointments — McArthur was barred for three years from an area bounded by Bloor Street to the north, College and Carlton streets to the south, Sherbourne Street to the east and University Avenue to the west — an area encompassing the Church and Wellesley neighbourhood.

Autoshop owner Dominic Vetere said police were investigating McArthur since at least October 2017, when they visited his shop — Dom’s Auto Parts — looking for McArthur’s Dodge Caravan. The vehicle was located and towed from the shop. Police later told Vetere they found trace amounts of blood in the vehicle.

McArthur was self-employed as a landscaper, using the company name ‘Artistic Design’. He is believed to have worked on up to 30 properties in Toronto and the GTA.

McArthur also played the role of Santa Claus for the past few Christmas seasons at Agincourt Mall, near Sheppard Avenue East and Kennedy Road.

McArthur has a grown daughter who lives in Durham region. His ex-wife lives in Bowmanville.

McArthur lived in an East York apartment building. A neighbour said he lived with a male partner, according to The Globe and Mail.

McArthur provided free gardening services at a Leaside property in exchange for the use of a garage to store his landscaping supplies. In 2010, Abdulbasir Faizi’s car was found a few blocks away from the property shortly after he disappeared.

Neighbours say they often saw McArthur at a rural property in Madoc, though he did not own the property. The phone at the property is registered to an R Horan.

McArthur has also been connected to a home in Scarborough where neighbours say a man named Roger Horan lived.